New Prophecy From The Stars
by Samantha Sterling
Summary: First story of a Star Wars AU trilogy. Follows Leia's journey as a senator, her relationship and marriage to her husband Kayven, the early years of their daughter Hydie, and how the family becomes involved in the rebellion.
1. Her Thoughts

**(A/N: This is a totally AU story, therefore I am making a few small changes to the general Star Wars storyline to make it work. Nothing too drastic, so don't worry. As for the disclaimer, George Lucas owns Star Wars and I don't. I'm just borrowing it for my own fanfiction enjoyment.)**

_Outside a Senate building on Alderaan_

"I hate these classes, they're so boring." Leia Organa mumbled to herself.

The sixteen year old daughter of Bail and Breha Organa had just finished up yet another Senator training class. Four hours of listening to someone talk about negotiations and trade agreements, it was so incredibly boring! Now that the class was over, she was taking the time to relax and catch some fresh air while waiting for a friend to get out of her class. The two girls had planned to take a shuttle back to the Royal House of Alderaan and discuss their lessons. But while Leia waited, she was thinking of her early memories of life with her senator parents.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Dada! Dada!" four year old Leia squealed happily._

"_Yes, sweetie?" Bail said, scooping up his little girl in his arms._

"_Are we going to see those nice people?"_

"_Of course, dear heart. And you will be a good girl and behave, right?"_

"_Yes, Dada."_

_Bail smiled and kissed little Leia on her forehead. He was taking her to a Senate meeting so she could get a chance to observe how her future would be when she grew up and became a Senator herself. He only hoped that she would behave and listen to what the senators were talking about._

"_Now, sweetie, this will be a long meeting. And you will sit still and listen, right?"_

"_Right Dada. I'll be a good girl and behave." Leia said, smiling from ear to ear._

_END FLASHBACK_

"I can't believe I actually liked Senate meetings then. Now they're terribly boring." Leia muttered under her breath.

"Leia! Leia!" a voice called out.

Leia looked up and was happy to see that her friend Sirena was finally out of her class. The perky 15 year old ran over to her friend and gave her a hug, happy to finally be out of class and be able to spend quality time with Leia.

"How did your class go?" Leia asked

"Well, Mon Mothma wouldn't stop talking about trade negotiations." Sirena said, making a face at the same time.

"Ah, I see. And Senator Wyan's talk about diplomatic negotiations wasn't exactly thrilling."

"Well, we have no choice if we're going to be senators one day."

Leia forced a smile as she continued to talk to Sirena about their classes and what they needed to study that evening. They also hoped to spend some time with their other friend Winter and have some girl talk.

"So is Winter going to be at the Royal House when we arrive there?"

"Sirena, you of all people should know that Winter and I grew up together. She's there almost every day."

"I'm just asking."

"I know, but as I just said—." Leia started to say before Sirena gave her a nudge.

"Now what is it?"

"Look over there! Don't you see him?"

"See who?" Leia asked as she turned around and looked around the corner.

What she was looking at was a young man who appeared to be a couple years older than her. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and was dressed in a pilot's outfit. He was also leaning against the wall, apparently waiting for someone as he looked at the shuttles passing by above them.

"Um, what about him?" Leia asked in confusion and annoyance.

"Don't you know who that is? That's Kayven Faria, he just finished his pilot's training. Plus he got rejected from Jedi training as a child." Sirena said.

"Sirena, the Jedi have been extinct for years. How could he have possibly been rejected from Jedi training?"

"Well, that's what I was told. But still, he just finished his pilot's training and I hear he's one of the best."

"So, what's your point?"

"My point is that I really think you should go and get to know him. He would be a perfect match for you."

"Dating is the last thing on my mind right now. I just need to focus on these Senate classes." Leia said.

"Alright, but trust me on this one." Sirena said.

Leia shook her head as she glanced back over at the young pilot, who was now eagerly chatting with a friend of his own. That was when a strange feeling came over her, like she sensed something special about this man.

_You know, he is pretty cute. _she thought to herself.

"Leia, Leia! The shuttle is here! Can we get on and go back to the Royal House?" Sirena asked, snapping Leia out of her thoughts.

"Oh, sure. I'm coming." Leia said.

As she stepped onto the shuttle behind Sirena, Leia was still thinking of the man she had seen. She just couldn't shake this strange feeling about him, and it wasn't even a romantic feeling.


	2. Don't You Deny It

_At the Royal House of Alderaan_

Leia, Sirena, and Winter were happy that classes were over for the day and that they could just enjoy relaxing and chatting together.

"So, did you talk about negotiations again today?" Winter asked her two friends.

"You know, I don't understand why we even talk about them when negotiating never accomplishes anything these days." Leia said, sound slightly annoyed.

"And we all know how stubborn Palpatine is, negotiations never work with him." Sirena added.

"Why do we even bother learning about that sort of thing anyway?" Leia asked.

"According to your mother and father, it's required of all senate training classes." Winter added in.

Leia just rolled her eyes and lay back in her chair. Winter and Sirena both had good points, but she did too. Why should they learn about negotiations when they were pointless in the Imperial Senate these days?

"Anyway, why don't we talk about something more interesting?" Sirena asked.

"Like what?" Winter replied.

"Like Leia's new crush." Sirena said, snickering under her breath.

"My WHAT?" Leia asked in surprise.

Both Sirena and Winter started snickering loudly while Leia's face turned bright red. She immediately realized who Sirena was referring to and was prepared to defend herself.

"I do not have a crush on Kayven Faria and you know it!" she snapped angrily.

"Oh, you should have seen the way she was eyeing him. I think she's in love." Sirena said, still giggling.

"Why would I be in love at sixteen? Besides, I don't even know this man." Leia said in her defense.

"It's love at first sight, don't you know that?" Winter added.

"And how would you know? If you think this man is so cute, you should date him." Leia said.

"Oh I already did." Sirena replied with a huge grin on her face.

"You did WHAT?"

Sirena and Winter burst out laughing at Leia, who had a look of pure shock on her face. They couldn't believe that they surprised her with this funny joke of theirs.

"Got you!" Sirena exclaimed, pointing and laughing at Leia.

Leia, now furious, proceeded to pick up a pillow from the couch she was sitting on and fling it right at Sirena. The pillow hit her right in the face, but it thankfully didn't hurt her. Laughing, Sirena picked the pillow up and flung it right back at Leia. Pretty soon, all three girls were in the midst of a laugh filled pillow fight.

_In a cantina_

Kayven's idea of relaxing after piloting ships all day was to go to his favorite cantina, the Mar Shadaa Cantina. He was sitting at the bar with his two friends, Nordin and Garrick, waiting for their drink orders to be ready and chatting about their day.

"Is Flavian going to show up?" Nordin asked, referring to Kayven's older brother.

"You know how he is with making it on time. We'll be getting ready to leave when he comes walking in the door." Kayven replied.

"That nerfherder." Garrick mumbled under his breath.

"Hey, that's my brother you're talking about."

"He's still a nerfherder, though."

Kayven rolled his eyes as the bartender set their drinks on the counter. His friends loved to pick on him and his brother all the time whenever they went out. And as he sipped his drink, he thought about ways he could get back at them.

"Hey Kayven, tell us about her." Garrick said, snapping Kayven out of his thoughts.

"About who?"

"About that pretty brunette girl."

"What brunette girl?"

"Oh don't lie to us. Of course you saw that pretty girl giving you the eye." Nordin said, snickering under his breath.

"Um no. I didn't see her anywhere." Kayven said, now very confused.

"Come on, Kayven. You didn't see Leia Organa giving you the eye outside the senate building on Alderaan?" Garrick asked.

Kayven got a wide eyed look on his face upon hearing the name of the princess. Surely a girl whose parents held such high ranking powers in the Senate would not be interested in a common pilot like him. A huge grin grew on his face and he burst out laughing at their little joke.

"You really got me there. That was a good joke, guys." he says.

"We're not joking. She really was looking at you while you were waiting for your shuttle earlier." Nordin said.

"Be honest, why would the sixteen year old princess be interested in a rookie pilot like me? Nobody in the whole entire galaxy would believe it."

"Look, he's in denial. He loves her too and he knows it." Garrick replied, laughing along with Nordin.

"Now I know you're joking. That's a great one, you two." Kayven replied.

"He's hopeless. He'll never learn the princess actually has a crush on him." Nordin said.

"I guess he'll learn the hard way then." Garrick replied.

"And you two will learn that Princess Leia Organa would never have a crush on a commoner, especially a common pilot." Kayven shot back.


	3. Another Senate Trip

Leia sighed as she ran the hairbrush through her hair. Today was yet another day of traveling to the Senate building on Coruscant for another meeting with Palpatine and his politicians. Even though she absolutely despised going to these meetings, she knew that she had to at least look halfway decent, especially since her father would be at the meetings as well.

"Leia! The shuttle is almost here!" she heard Bail call out.

"Alright, Daddy! I'm coming."

Leia rolled her eyes as she slammed her hairbrush down and walked up to her bedroom door, allowing it to slide open. She definitely was not looking forward to going to this meeting and tried to walk as slow as possible down the hall, hoping to stall things so she wouldn't have to go.

"Leia, you know not to be late for a Senate meeting."

Sighing, Leia picked up the pace and walked down the hall towards the landing platform, where her mother, father, and the shuttle were waiting.

"I know you don't want to go, but Palpatine always demands our presence at these meetings." Breha said.

"I'd rather be hunting wampas on Hoth." Leia mumbled under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh nothing, Mom. I guess I'll get on board."

She was still looking quite unhappy as she stepped inside the shuttle and sat down in her seat. She could only wonder what sort of nonsense Palpatine would ramble on about at this meeting and was not pleased to have to sit on it.

"Leia, if I were you, I would at least try to smile and tolerate this." Breha said, noticing the grim look on her daughter's face.

"But Mom, why do we even bother? Plus you know Palpatine doesn't even like the peaceful way Daddy runs things on Alderaan."

"I know, dear. But this is life as a senator; you sometimes have to deal with things you don't agree with."

Leia just rolled her eyes as she rested her chin on her hand and stared out the window. She could tell this would be a very, very long day. And, according to the conversation she heard between her father and the navigator, it would be an interesting day as well.

"What do you mean that Captain Cace is no longer the ship's pilot? What happened to him?"

"Well, nothing is the matter. He simply retired. But our new pilot has been highly recommended to me so I think he will do a fantastic job."

_In a meeting room_

Emperor Palpatine was surrounded by various senators, including the Organa family, in the gigantic meeting room of the Senate building. The topic of discussion was a very common one: the budget and size of the Empire's army of Stormtroopers.

"Sir, do you believe that this new budget will work?" Bail asked.

"Of course I do, Senator. It is imperative to have this amount for the Empire's army." Palpatine replied.

Leia was tempted to roll her eyes, but she knew better than to disrespect Palpatine like that. However, what he said next truly shocked her.

"How many more troops does the army need?" one of the other senators asked.

"I believe that 5,000 more troops will suit my army just fine." Palpatine calmly said.

The senators talked feverishly amongst themselves about this proposal, but Leia simply felt shocked and appalled. She was well aware of how Palpatine took pride in his army keeping things in check around the galaxy, but she thought this was just ridiculous.

"Daddy, say something." she whispered to her father.

"That's not a good idea, Leia."

"But—"

"Your mother and I will explain it to you later, dear. But please pay attention."

Leia sighed as the senators turned to Palpatine and approved his proposal for the army. It always amazed her that no one even attempted to stand up to Palpatine and his outrageous demands. There was never any negotiating on these matters and it just baffled her.

_On board the shuttle, after the meeting_

"Mom, Dad, why didn't you stand up to Palpatine? Those demands he has are so unfair." Leia asked.

"We know, dear. But there's something you need to understand: standing up to Palpatine like that is not a wise decision." Breha said.

"Your mother is right. Anyone who stands up to him has committed a serious breach of etiquette against the government and is usually meet an unexpected end for it." Bail added.

"Some government." Leia mumbled under her breath.

"Yes, we think it's unfair as well. But Palpatine is the Galactic Emperor and we serve under him so therefore we must obey what he says." Bail said.

Leia just sighed as she sat in her seat and stared out the window at other shuttles passing by. She had to admit that her family was right, however unfair the Empire's politics were. But she still felt that someone should have the courage to stand up to Palpatine, no matter what the consequences were.

"Leia, your father and I need to have a private talk now." Breha said.

"Why? Is something wrong?" Leia asked, sounding concerned.

"It's just about the meeting today, but we do need some privacy." Breha replied.

"Why don't you go practice your navigation in the cockpit? I'm sure our new pilot can help you." Bail added.

Leia nodded in agreement as she stood up and walked towards the cockpit. _New pilot? But where's Captain Cace?_ she thought to herself. But little did she know that the new pilot would be the one person that would change her life.


	4. From The First Moment I Saw You

Leia, being the outgoing and somewhat rebellious teenager that she was, had indeed begun to take a liking to learning navigation skills recently. While she knew this was not something a princess normally learned, she still had fun doing it and being able to plot courses around the galaxy. And Captain Cace had been the one who had guided and trained her, so it was very surprising that he was not the shuttle's pilot that day.

_I hope nothing's happened to him._ she thought as she walked toward the cockpit.

But along the way, she came across a very familiar and unfortunate sight to her: it was her family's two droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, having an argument over some small issue.

"What did I say about that, R2?! Don't you try to open a door with that programming!" 3PO yelled.

R2-D2 angrily beeped out some insult at the protocol droid who snapped back with "Don't you call me a stupid twit, you piece of scrap metal."

Trying not to laugh, Leia smiled and said "Hello there, 3PO."

Startled, the two droids turned around to see the princess standing behind them with an amused grin on her face. Embarrassed, 3PO awkwardly bowed to her while R2 whistled a couple of amused beeps.

"Greetings, Mistress Leia. How are you doing on this splendid afternoon?"

"I am doing alright, 3PO. Is everything okay back here?"

"Everything is quite alright, Mistress Leia." 3PO said then looked over at R2 who backed away and whistled innocently.

Leia snickered to herself, knowing that R2 loved to blame 3PO whenever something went wrong and vice versa. But that was not her biggest concern right now.

"Oh I'm glad, 3PO. But I must be on my way to the cockpit." she said.

"Very well, Mistress Leia. Carry on"

Leia smiled as she walked away from the two droids. She was always happy about how 3PO tried to be a gentleman in her presence, even if he was bickering and arguing with R2.

"Oh, those protocol droids. They try so hard." she said under her breath as she approached the cockpit door.

She keyed in the door code to unlock it, and the low beep signaled that she had keyed it in correctly. With that, the door slowly slid open to reveal the intricate cockpit of the shuttle. There were two seats in front of the control panel. One was empty, but the other one was occupied by whom Leia guessed was the shuttle's pilot. He has his head looking straight out the cockpit windshield and he had a white pilot's helmet on with the visor covering his eyes.

"Oh, may I come in here?" she asked.

"Well… I guess you can." the pilot quickly replied back.

_How rude._ Leia thought to herself as she took her place in the empty chair. Captain Cace would have never greeted her in such an unfriendly manner. He was always so warm and friendly to her as she practiced her navigation. But Leia choose to simply ignore the cold greeting as she began to look over the navigation panel.

"Now, how do you set those coordinates to Tatooine?" she said to herself.

"You do realize we are not going to that planet?" the pilot said.

"Yes I do know that. I'm just practicing, that's all." Leia snapped back.

"Just reminding you, that's all." the pilot replied.

Leia rolled her eyes as she continued to look over the navigation panel. She quickly found the navigation map and noticed that the ship was currently locked in on its coordinates back to Alderaan. However, she still decided to practice with the Tatooine coordinates.

"Now, if I just realign it like this, then I can start with the new coordinates." she said and reached for a button on the panel.

"Don't touch that!" the pilot said suddenly.

"What did I tell you about practicing? I'll set it to the right coordinates when I'm done." Leia snapped.

"We haven't even left Coruscant yet. You can't change the coordinates before we leave the planet, it's too early to do so." the pilot replied.

Fuming, Leia spun her chair around so she was looking at the pilot and said angrily "You dare speak to the princess of Alderaan like that. When I tell my father about you—"

She was cut off by the pilot saying in surprise "You're Princess Leia?" and flipping his visor up.

Leia was completely in shock at who was looking back at her. It was none other than Kayven Faria who was the new pilot. Not knowing what to do, she slowly stood up from her chair and backed up toward the cockpit door.

"Oh my. I mean…I didn't…I do apologize." Kayven stammered, not knowing what else to say.

"No, it's fine. I understand. I just…I need to leave now." Leia said and bolted out of the cockpit.

_You idiot! That was the Princess and you blew it! _Kayven thought to himself.

_In the hallway_

Leia felt really embarrassed as she leaned against the wall with her head in her hands. She was so shocked that Kayven just had to be the new pilot. And she thought that she was this close to forgetting about him until now.

_Why me? Why me? Why can't I get rid of him?_ she thought.

She was right about the fact that she just couldn't get Kayven out of her life and her thoughts, but what Leia did not realize was just how much of a good thing that would eventually be for her.


	5. What A Feeling

_At the Royal House of Alderaan_

Leia was silent as she leaned back in a chair inside her bedchambers. She had been staying silent ever since she arrived home, not really knowing what to make of what had happened on the shuttle. The short and awkward conversation kept playing over and over in her mind like a never ending transmission over the comlink. It was visibly starting to frustrate her as she held her hands over her face and took deep breathes, desperate to get any reminders of Kayven out of her head.

_Just go away! Leave me alone! Why in the name of Palpatine must you do this to me? _she angrily thought.

Agitated, Leia leaned forward and rested her chin on her fists. She just wanted Kayven Faria out of her mind and nothing she was doing was working at all. She began to wonder if she ever would forget about that rookie pilot at some point in her young life.

As she contemplated on what to do, she heard a soft knocking at her bedchamber doors. Rolling her eyes and groaning inwards, Leia slowly stood up from her chair and shuffled her way towards the doors.

_Force, nobody will leave me alone today,_ she thought as she pressed the controls to open the door.

"There you are! We were hoping we'd find you here!" Winter exclaimed happily.

It was no surprise that it had been Winter and Sirena knocking on the door, eager to see their best friend. Both girls skipped happily into the room and sat on the edge of Leia's bed.

"So, where is your new boyfriend?" Sirena squealed.

Leia glared at her as she sat down hard in her chair. Sirena was a little taken aback at Leia's sullen and unhappy mood, as was Winter who looked at her feeling quite shocked.

"I don't want to talk about it. He is not my boyfriend." Leia snapped.

"Well, no need to be so rude to us." Winter replied.

"You two won't leave me alone about it. I haven't even spoken to him and you're already accusing me of being in love with him. Why can't you just drop it?"

"We're not trying to be mean, Leia. Best friends are never mean to each other." Sirena added.

"If you are my friends, you would shut up about Kayven already. I just want to forget about it."

Leia folded her arms and turned around in her chair so she was facing the door. Winter and Sirena stood up from the bed and cautiously walked over to their upset friend.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Sirena knelt down on the floor next to Leia, who was still quite angry and looking down at the floor to avoid the two girls. Sirena spoke to her calmly with "What did he do to you?"

Leia slowly looked up at her best friend, who had a look of grave concern on her face. Winter, who happened to be standing right next to Sirena twirling a strand of hair around her finger, also looked concerned and worried. Leia let out a deep breath of impatience as she brushed Sirena's hand off of her shoulder.

"He won't leave me alone, that's what he did. It seems like every time I turn around, there's Kayven. It's like trying to get rid of a Wookie; I just can't do it."

Leia ran her fingers roughly through her hair as she began to sob heavily. It was becoming quite obvious that something so little was becoming quite a burden on her. Siren and Winter had to softly bite their lips as they desperately tried to think of a way to calm Leia down.

"Well…has he done anything awful to you?" Winter finally asked.

Leia gave her an embarrassed look. She began wringing her hands as she thought about if the situation was really as bad as she was making it out to be.

"Actually…I mean…well…no. He really hasn't done anything that bad." she stammered.

"Then why would you want him to leave you alone?"

Leia groaned as she lay back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. "I don't know why. I really don't know why."

She felt her two best friends tightly grab her arms and pull her back into an upright sitting position. Both Sirena and Winter did not let go as they continued to talk to her.

"Leia, listen to what you're saying. He hasn't done anything to you. He hasn't even talked to you. And you want him to leave you alone? That doesn't make any sense." Sirena said.

"She's right. If you really do want him to leave you alone, don't look at him. Don't even think about it. I'm sure it will work." Winter added in.

Leia stared at the two girls, feeling quite frustrated. "Really? How can I not think about him?"

"Think about other things. Think about us, for example. Best friends are much better people than some random guy on the street." Sirena said.

Leia softly giggled. She, Sirena, and Winter were very inseparable as best friends. She could only hope that thinking about them would help wipe any thoughts about Kayven out of her mind.

_Inside the Mar Shadaa Cantina_

Kayven was at his usual place at the bar, waiting for his drink order to be ready. He was joined by Nordin, Garrick, and Flavian, all three of whom were laughing and talking about what had happened during the course of the day.

"I can't believe you almost ran into a Gungan!" Nordin exclaimed.

"Shut up. The clumsy idiot didn't look where he was going. It's not my fault." Flavian hissed angrily.

"I still think it's funny."

"Mesa Flavian! Mesa likee da Gungans!" Garrick squealed while flapping his hands at his side.

Enraged, Flavian promptly gave Garrick a sharp slap upside the head. Both Garrick and Nordin promptly erupted in laughter at Kayven's brother. It also earned them a sharp glare of anger from the bartender.

"If you don't want to be thrown out with the rest of the scum that gets dragged in here, shut up!"

Flavian took a quick sip of his drink to calm down, but Garrick and Nordin were still giggling under their breaths. Flavian clenched one of his hands in a fist as he desperately tried to hold in his anger.

"Will you two nerfherders shut up? I'd like to stay in here and not be on the streets with those slimy vermin."

"Easy there. Just relax and enjoy yourself." Nordin said.

"Speaking of, I don't think Kayven is enjoying himself." Garrick added.

The trio slowly turned to look at Kayven and were surprised to see him silently stirring his finger around in his drink.

"Hey! You alright over there?" Flavian asked.

Kayven slowly looked up, waved his other hand at the trio and quietly said "Yeah, I guess I am."

"No you're not or you wouldn't be quiet like this. Now what's up with you?" Nordin asked, poking Kayven in the side with his elbow.

Sighing, Kayven flopped his hands down on his lap and spun around on his barstool. He was quite frustrated with what had happened earlier that day on the shuttle and tried not to show it, but his friends and brother were about to push him over the edge.

"Alright, you wanna know what's up? I had a chance to talk to Leia Organa and I blew it! I completely blew it!"

"Whoa there! What exactly happened?" Garrick asked.

"She walked into the cockpit of my shuttle and I was left speechless. I literally could not say anything to her and I stammered like an idiot!"

"Oh really? Well, you do know what that means, right?" Flavian said while trying not to snicker.

"Oh yes. He is indeed in love with the princess." Garrick replied, also snickering.

"Shut up! I've told you already that I am not in love with her. I just couldn't talk to her, that's all!" Kayven screamed.

"Because you love her and you know it." Nordin said while trying not laugh.

"I do not, so shut up and drop it!"

Kayven was enraged as he turned back around to finish his drink. Secretly, though, he did have a little bit of feelings for Leia. It was something he simply couldn't figure out at that time.


	6. Take A Chance On Me

_Finally! Fresh air and no politics for once! _Leia happily thought.

She was enjoying the cool night air of Aldera out on one of the landing platforms outside the Royal Palace. The snowy covered canyons and mountains of her home planet provided her with a stunning view. Leia had always admired the serene landscapes of her home planet, which happened to be the most peaceful planet in the galaxy.

_Why can't all worlds be as lovely as Alderaan?_ she sadly thought.

As Leia gazed out at the sight of ships soaring over the mountains, a familiar beeping noise was heard from something on her wrist. She groaned inwardly as she touched a button on her comlink.

"What is it?" she asked, sounding annoyed.

"Leia, you need to come back inside. It's getting late and I'd rather not send out 3PO to find you." her mother's voice said.

"Fine, Mom. Whatever you say."

Leia sighed as she turned around on her heels and began walking back toward the palace. She didn't like her mother interrupting any alone time that she had, especially when it was relaxation from the stress of politics.

"For the love of a nerfherder, just leave me alone for once!" she hissed under her breath.

"In the name of the maker! I hate these circuits!" another voice above her screamed.

Leia was surprised as she looked up towards a nearby spacecraft to locate the source of the voice. What she saw was a silver, slim spacecraft and a young man up on the roof with a panel open. It was obvious that he was working on some interior circuits on the spacecraft and was not very successful at it.

"Blast it! Just stay put!" the man yelled.

"Um, do you need help with that?" Leia asked.

Shocked by her voice, the man jerked his head upward, slamming it into the top of the open panel at the time.

"In the name of the Sith!!! Why did you…"

The man lifted his head out of the panel opening, rubbing the sore spot on his head while doing so. He immediately stopped talking and his jaw dropped upon seeing Leia standing below the ship. Leia herself was even more shocked and taken aback upon realizing who the mystery man was?

"Kayven?" she asked outloud.

"Um…yeah. I'm Kayven." he replied nervously.

_You dumb nerfherder! You blew it again with the princess! _Kayven angrily thought as he climbed down from the ship, still rubbing the injury on his head.

"Oh, is the big tough pilot hurting?" Leia cooed sarcastically.

Rolling his eyes, Kayven calmly responded with "What says so? The swelling scalp or the bleeding hair?"

Leia sighed as she pulled a small cloth from her pocket and handed it to Kayven, who pressed it against the swelling on his head.

"Thank you, your majesty."

"You're welcome. And please, call me Leia."

"Oh. Sorry, Leia."

Leia forced a small smile at Kayven's clumsiness around her. She found it to be rather amusing and thought that it mean he was at least attempting to be polite to her. She did have one question for him, though.

"Why are you nervous around me?"

"Well…uh…I mean…you are the Princess of Alderaan. I've never spoken to a princess before."

Leia had to try not to snicker as she said "You are now. So relax."

"How can I relax around a princess?" Kayven asked desperately.

"Because I'm not going to turn you into the Emperor for doing anything."

Kayven also forced a small smile when Leia mentioned the Emperor. He deeply hated Palpatine for being so controlling over everything and everyone in the galaxy.

"Thanks for not doing that." he finally said.

Laughing, Leia turned around as she said "Oh no problem. But I better get back inside before my mother sends out the search droids."

She began walking back towards the palace when she heard Kayven behind her say "Wait. Can I ask you something?"

Leia was surprised when she stopped, turned around, and saw Kayven walking towards her wringing his hands and having a sheepish grin on his face.

"Um, what?" she asked.

"Well…you are very pretty."

"Oh, why thank you. That's nice."

"And I was wondering…well if you want…I mean…" Kayven stammered.

Holding up her hands, Leia was shocked as she said "Wait a minute. Are you…asking me out?"

Kayven started to blush as he continued to wringing his hands, not wanting to admit that fact to Leia.

"I guess you could say that. But I don't know where we would go or what we would do" he finally said.

"Well, I'm flattered. And the palace garden is always a nice place to be." Leia replied.

"Are you saying…?"

"Yes I accept. Just meet me in the garden tomorrow evening and we'll talk more then. Now I have to get back inside. See you tomorrow."

Leia felt quite proud of herself for getting a date with Kayven so she could prove to her friends that she was not as nervous around him as they thought she was. It was Kayven that stood there with his mouth wide open in surprise.

_I have a date with the princess of Alderaan?! I can't believe that!___was his only thought as he headed back to his ship.


	7. Say Hello To The Love In Your Heart

Leia felt her stomach flutter as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had her long brown hair piled into a neat bun with two strands of curls framing her face and she was wearing a dark blue silk dress with short flowing sleeves, but she was still feeling nervous about if it was an appropriate look for her evening with Kayven.

"Milady, you must relax. I believe you look very beautiful." her handmaiden said.

"Thank you, Rehan. But I'm just so nervous about this."

"Don't be. You'll be fine." Sirena said.

Leia turned around and looked at her two best friends, who were sitting on the edge of her bed. Both Sirena and Winter had come along for moral support as she was getting ready for the date.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course we are. Maybe he'll even ask you to marry him." Winter said, trying not to laugh.

"Oh, for the love of the Force, it's the first date!" Leia yelled.

"Ok, ok, relax. We're just having fun." Sirena said as she held up her hands in her defense.

Leia rolled her eyes as she turned around back to the mirror for one last check of her appearance.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"Like a princess, milady." Rehan said.

"She's right, you really do. I think Kayven will like that." Sirena added.

_In the garden of the Royal House of Alderaan_

Leia felt the cool breeze blow across her face as she stood in the beautiful garden outside, waiting for Kayven to arrive. She bent down and picked a red flower that was at her feet. She smiled at she smelled the calming scent of its petals.

_This is nice. I hope Kayven will like this place. _she thought.

She had always found a form of solace and comfort in this garden. It had been her mother's idea to have such a place for the royal family to escape from the stress of dealing with the Empire. It had seemed lately that Leia was the one relaxing in the garden as her parents were deeply involved with their politics and this was why she had picked the garden for her first date with Kayven. She knew that she would be getting some quality time alone with him to talk.

"Oh, there you are. I'm glad you're here." she heard a familiar voice say.

Looking up from her flower, Leia noticed that Kayven had made his appearance in the garden. He was dressed in a pristine blue tunic and pants with a white sleeveless robe and black boots. In his hands was a bouquet of white flowers for Leia, who was shocked at the present.

"My Force. Those are beautiful."

"I hope that you like them."

Kayven placed the bouquet into Leia's open palm. She ran her hand over it as she admired the flowers. It was a beautiful first date present.

"Thank you kindly, Kayven. I love them."

"You're very welcome, my lady."

"Please call me Leia. You don't need to be so formal."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. This isn't the Senate and Palpatine's not around. Now let's sit down here and talk."

Leia sat down on a nearby marble bench. Kayven was feeling a little apprehensive as he slowly sat down next to her, not believing that he was with the Princess of Alderaan.

"Please relax, Kayven. I'm not that formal and proper."

"But…you're the princess."

"Yes, I know that. But I don't always act like it. My father tells me all the time that I'm a rebel."

"Really? You don't seem like one."

Laughing, Leia couldn't help but smile as she said to Kayven "Believe me; you didn't grow up with me. I didn't like the traditional ways of being a princess. My family had to fight with me to look more lady like at times."

Kayven was shocked to hear this. He had never imagined that Leia, being the Princess of Alderaan, could be so rebellious and so polite to him at the same time.

"It certainly worked tonight. You look very beautiful." he finally said.

Blushing, Leia brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and looked down at her feet as she said "Oh, thank you."

"No, I mean it. You are a beautiful girl. You should dress like this more often."

Leia's face turned red as she folded her arms and stared at the ground. Being complimented like that was not something she was used to.

"You really think so?"

"Yes, I do." Kayven said as he brushed his hand across Leia's cheek.

Surprised at what her date has just done, Leia jumped up from the bench and almost swatted Kayven's hand away from her. This was not something that she was expecting on her first date.

"Excuse me? What was that for?" she asked angrily.

"It was a compliment. I'm trying to be nice." Kayven replied in his defense.

"You don't have to do that to be nice."

"Can't a man be a gentleman anymore?"

Sighing, Leia placed a hand on Kayven's shoulder as she said "Look, I'm sorry. I've never had a date before and I'm not used to this from men. I'm always so focused on my duties with my parents in the senate and dealing with Palpatine."

"I understand. My family can't stand Palpatine either, but we have to do what we do or else there are consequences."

Leia shook a little at that comment. She knew what Kayven was referring to and it was not something she really wanted to think about. She preferred to focus on her and her date right now.

"So, anything else you want to talk about?" she asked.

_Two hours later, on the landing platform_

"I had a wonderful time talking with you, Leia. You're an interesting person to talk to." Kayven said.

"Oh I had fun, too. I just wish we could've talked longer." Leia replied.

"No worries. I'm sure we'll have more opportunities to do so."

With that, Kayven took the princess's hand and planted a soft kiss on it.

"Until next time, princess. I look forward to our next meeting." he said, a wide smile on his face at the same time.

Leia could feel her cheeks turning red as she walked away from Kayven and back towards the Royal Palace. Never in her life had she ever encountered a man that treated her with such kindness and was able to look past her rough and tumble attitude.

_He's a gentleman, that's for sure. Maybe not all pilots are scruffy after all. I think I like him._ she thought.


	8. I Lost Myself In Fantasies

_Outside Royal House of Alderaan_

Leia had a big smile on her face as she waited for the shuttle to arrive. She was still in awe over how much of a gentleman Kayven had been to her. As she stood on the landing platform outside of her home, she had one thought on her mind.

_I really do like him. I guess he's not such a scoundrel pilot after all._

"Leia! There you are!" Winter exclaimed.

Startled out of her deep thoughts, Leia jumped a little at the sound of her friend's voice.

"What the Force, Winter?!" she exclaimed as she turned around.

"Sorry, Leia. I didn't mean to scare you." Winter replied.

Leia groaned as she rubbed her hands over her face. This was typical of Winter to ruin a happy thought for her.

"Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?" a concerned Winter asked.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"No, tell me. What is it?"

"It's nothing. Just thinking about what happened last night."

"Well, what did happen?"

Leia rolled her eyes at her friend and gave her a look of disbelief. Winter stared at her then her eyes began to widen as she realized what Leia was referring to.

"Oh! How was the date with your new boyfriend?"

"First of all, he is not my boyfriend. And second of all, it was just fine."

"Oh really? Are you sure he isn't your boyfriend?" Winter said, nudging Leia's arm.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now drop it!" Leia snapped.

Winter rose up her hands and backed away from Leia. She knew that when Leia was in one of her moods that it would be best to forget about the issue at hand.

Both girls breathed a sigh of relief as they looked up in the sky and spotted the gleam of their shuttle. It was an opportunity to relax and calm down on their way to the Senate, however dull being there was.

"Finally." Leia grumbled as the shuttle made its landing.

"I wonder what sort of Palpatine nonsense we'll hear today." Winter said.

"Winter! You know not to say that sort of thing in public!"

Leia was sadly right. Emperor Palpatine had secret spies placed throughout the galaxy to ensure no one dared speak up against him. The punishment for doing so was often a painful death at Palpatine's hands.

"But it's the truth. And you know it too, Leia."

"Whatever, Winter. Let's just go and deal with this later."

Winter shook her head as she stepped onto the shuttle's boarding ramp. Leia did have an interesting view on things and sometimes she wondered what her friend was really thinking.

_At an apartment in Aldera_

"Wake up, you nerfherder! Flavian shouted from the hallway.

Waking up his little brother was always a chore as Kayven never woke up on his own. And when Kayven did wake up, it was another ordeal to get him in a good mood.

"Oh shut up and go away!" he snapped back and pulled the blanket over his head.

"I don't think so."

Flavian pressed a button on the door controls, sliding open the door to Kayven's bedroom. He marched over to the bed and yanked the soft, fluffy blankets off of his sleeping brother.

"In the name of the Sith! You are asking for it!" a furious Kayven yelled.

He grabbed one of his pillows and flung it at Flavian, hitting him square in the face. This stunned Flavian, who stumbled backwards and dropped the blankets on the floor.

"There! Was that so hard?" Kayven screamed as he fiercely grabbed the blankets.

"What is wrong with you? Someone put a womp rat in your pillow last night?"

"No, but you spoiled a dream I was having from last night! So thanks for that!"

"Ok, calm down. Why was this dream so important anyway?"

Kayven groaned and hung his head in embarrassment. He knew that if he admitted that he was dreaming about Leia, his brother would not let him hear the end of it.

"None of your business." he snapped.

"Alright, then. If you're going to be stubborn…"

Flavian folded his arms and leaned against the open doorway. His little brother narrowed his eyes and glared at him.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh yes I would. And I'm not moving until you tell me what that dream was about."

Kayven threw up his hands in defeat. Getting past Flavian would be useless without the truth.

"Ok, fine. I was dreaming about my date with Leia. Are you happy now?"

"Ah ha! I knew it! You were dreaming about your new girlfriend!"

Feeling his face turn red with rage, Kayven growled "She is not my girlfriend! It was only one date!"

"Oh really? Then why is your face turning red like that?"

Kayven was infuriated. He stomped over to his older brother and grabbed a fistful of his shirt collar, pulling Flavian an inch away from his face.

"Because you will not leave me alone. And if I hear that you are telling this to everyone, I will personally take you to Tatooine and dump you in the Sarlaac pit." he hissed.

He slowly released his fist from a shaken up Flavian's shirt, who carefully backed away from Kayven.

"Ok…ok. Just relax. I won't tell." Flavian said nervously.

He immediately turned around and ran down the long hallway away from Kayven's bedroom. Kayven, meanwhile, stood in the doorway with his arms folded and his foot tapping nervously on the floor.

_He better not breathe a word. Leia is so beautiful and sweet. But I can't admit that now. Nobody would believe a pilot like me would love a beautiful princess. _he thought as he watched his brother run further and further down the hallway. 


End file.
